US-backed fighters open new front vs IS in Syria – monitor

BEIRUT: US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters have opened a new front against the Islamic State group in northern Syria, thrusting into a strategic jihadist pocket along the Turkish border, a monitor said on Wednesday.

The swathe of territory controlled by IS on either side of the Euphrates River has long been a key target for Washington as it is seen as the main entry point for foreign fighters.

The Pentagon has deployed more than 200 special forces troops alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led alliance in which it has been trying to boost the Arab element.

US-led coalition aircraft carried out intense air strikes on the IS-held town of Manbij, 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the Euphrates, in support of the offensive, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on reports from medics and activists on the ground, said three children were among 15 civilians killed in the pre-dawn raids.